Seeing we still need help on the LBer front. Should we bring in McClain and try to put him on a 1 year play or pay contract. To see if he fits a 4-3 system better and how much he's cleaned up in his personal life. Put him in Durant's spot or move Tulloch outside, that would take the pressure off possibly drafting a another LB. Thoughts??

_________________The REAL "Lion King" and father to Simba

April 7th, 2013, 12:45 pm

Shotty

Millen Draft Pick - Epic Bust

Joined: July 3rd, 2012, 2:06 amPosts: 717

Re: McClain a Lion?

I'd love this. If we did get him, he'd probably immediately be put in Durants past spot. He needs to prove he can cover well before being trusted at MLB.

_________________

April 7th, 2013, 12:56 pm

The Legend

Off. Coordinator – Joe Lombardi

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 4030Location: WSU

Re: McClain a Lion?

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

April 7th, 2013, 6:33 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: McClain a Lion?

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

I agree... We don't have a sound system, culture, leadership, etc. Those are things that a player needs when he's "turning his career around," which is why players don't come here and "get better."

It would be a mistake on McClain's part to come to Detroit.

If he wants to play on a one year deal he should go to a team like Baltimore. Somewhere he's going to have a defined role.

April 7th, 2013, 6:41 pm

Shotty

Millen Draft Pick - Epic Bust

Joined: July 3rd, 2012, 2:06 amPosts: 717

Re: McClain a Lion?

wjb21ndtown wrote:

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

I agree... We don't have a sound system, culture, leadership, etc. Those are things that a player needs when he's "turning his career around," which is why players don't come here and "get better."

It would be a mistake on McClain's part to come to Detroit.

If he wants to play on a one year deal he should go to a team like Baltimore. Somewhere he's going to have a defined role.

Very unfortunately, this is 100% true. I wish we had a front office remotely similar to New England's. Theirs is as sound as it gets. At the same time, no matter how bad the front office is at these things, talent is talent.

_________________

April 7th, 2013, 8:46 pm

thelomasbrowns

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2482

Re: McClain a Lion?

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

While you could argue we overpaid for Levy, I don't think it's fair to compare his salary to what Durant ultimately got. I was on here at the opening of free agency saying Durant was going to be out of our price range and everybody agreed with me. The fact that he signed for a pittance came as a shock to me (and I'm sure to others) and to me is evidence that something fishy is happening with free agency (did somebody say collusion?).

_________________Jim Caldwell, on whether Jim Harbaugh is stealing his thunder: "Me? I don't have any thunder."

April 7th, 2013, 10:27 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: McClain a Lion?

thelomasbrowns wrote:

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

While you could argue we overpaid for Levy, I don't think it's fair to compare his salary to what Durant ultimately got. I was on here at the opening of free agency saying Durant was going to be out of our price range and everybody agreed with me. The fact that he signed for a pittance came as a shock to me (and I'm sure to others) and to me is evidence that something fishy is happening with free agency (did somebody say collusion?).

And I'm the conspiracy theorist? What collusion are you referring to? And where's your "PROOF!!!!" that you're always demanding from me.

April 7th, 2013, 10:33 pm

DJ-B

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: April 5th, 2007, 5:51 pmPosts: 2327

Re: McClain a Lion?

Shotty wrote:

I'd love this. If we did get him, he'd probably immediately be put in Durants past spot. He needs to prove he can cover well before being trusted at MLB.

Doesnt the SLB end up needeing to be able to cover the TE in any standard formation. Regardless. his Primary problem on field is his lack of coverage ability.. so the Only position hes functional at is MLB, and you dont move tulloch fromt he position hes always played and you just paid him million to come back and play to slide in a guy who couldnt cut it on the raiders int he same role. IF we brought him in it would be as Tullochs backup. This isnt Madden.

wjb21ndtown wrote:

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

I agree... We don't have a sound system, culture, leadership, etc. Those are things that a player needs when he's "turning his career around," which is why players don't come here and "get better."

It would be a mistake on McClain's part to come to Detroit.

If he wants to play on a one year deal he should go to a team like Baltimore. Somewhere he's going to have a defined role.

100% agreed. If we could get him dirt cheap as a Backup, id say why not. That said, we are the wrong team for him, without a real opening where his talent could shine even if he could get it together, and we have problems properly disciplining and managing potheads, let alone violent criminals. Bad idea all around.

April 7th, 2013, 11:36 pm

thelomasbrowns

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2482

Re: McClain a Lion?

wjb21ndtown wrote:

thelomasbrowns wrote:

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

While you could argue we overpaid for Levy, I don't think it's fair to compare his salary to what Durant ultimately got. I was on here at the opening of free agency saying Durant was going to be out of our price range and everybody agreed with me. The fact that he signed for a pittance came as a shock to me (and I'm sure to others) and to me is evidence that something fishy is happening with free agency (did somebody say collusion?).

And I'm the conspiracy theorist? What collusion are you referring to? And where's your "PROOF!!!!" that you're always demanding from me.

I'm not the only one who's pointed this out--PFT talks about practically every day. I think you can look at FA this year and the only person who got about what you would expect is Mike Wallace. Other top FAs got only modest deals; poor guys like Durant (who's coming off a great year stats wise) have totally got the shaft. I know that's only anecdotal; if I had the time, I would look at the deals the top 3 guys at each position signed and compare that to previous years. My instinct tells me you would find that salaries seem to be going down, which suggests something fishy is going on.

_________________Jim Caldwell, on whether Jim Harbaugh is stealing his thunder: "Me? I don't have any thunder."

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

While you could argue we overpaid for Levy, I don't think it's fair to compare his salary to what Durant ultimately got. I was on here at the opening of free agency saying Durant was going to be out of our price range and everybody agreed with me. The fact that he signed for a pittance came as a shock to me (and I'm sure to others) and to me is evidence that something fishy is happening with free agency (did somebody say collusion?).

And I'm the conspiracy theorist? What collusion are you referring to? And where's your "PROOF!!!!" that you're always demanding from me.

I'm not the only one who's pointed this out--PFT talks about practically every day. I think you can look at FA this year and the only person who got about what you would expect is Mike Wallace. Other top FAs got only modest deals; poor guys like Durant (who's coming off a great year stats wise) have totally got the shaft. I know that's only anecdotal; if I had the time, I would look at the deals the top 3 guys at each position signed and compare that to previous years. My instinct tells me you would find that salaries seem to be going down, which suggests something fishy is going on.

It's more likely that the flat cap has curbed spending. The top guys in FA will still get big deals because previous deals are used to determine these new deals, but the minor guys contracts are determined solely by what a team is willing to pay. The league still has one more year at minimum before the cap starts to see a significant increase and with signed players salaries going up every year teams have to save on money somewhere. Unfortunately for this years non-elite FAs, the savings is coming from their contracts.

April 8th, 2013, 11:15 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10066Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: McClain a Lion?

thelomasbrowns wrote:

I'm not the only one who's pointed this out--PFT talks about practically every day. I think you can look at FA this year and the only person who got about what you would expect is Mike Wallace. Other top FAs got only modest deals; poor guys like Durant (who's coming off a great year stats wise) have totally got the shaft. I know that's only anecdotal; if I had the time, I would look at the deals the top 3 guys at each position signed and compare that to previous years. My instinct tells me you would find that salaries seem to be going down, which suggests something fishy is going on.

Really?! You are going to use PFT as a reliable source? That thing flying out the window just now was your credibility.

Teams have chosen to approach free agency these past couple seasons by retaining their stars rather than going out and paying big cash for big names. With the cap basically staying the same year after year since the latest CBA, teams are being forced to be more constrained with their spending. The players accepted it and ratified it. As long as the teams are within the requirements of the CBA, then the players have nothing to complain about and any notion of collusion is simply the meanderings of people like Mike Florio, who write football related articles for a living, and need to write something...even if they have to make it up. This certainly isn't the first time a former Lions player has gone elsewhere and ended up making less than what they were looking for out of Detroit. There's been plenty of players in the past who have taken less to play elsewhere. None of us knows if Durant simply wanted out, or if the coaching staff preferred Levy over Durant. I definitely think that the Lions overpaid Levy, which leads me to believe they got desperate because they were already told by Durant he had no interest in re-signing.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

April 8th, 2013, 12:48 pm

Mufasa

Walk On

Joined: January 11th, 2006, 4:04 pmPosts: 441

Re: McClain a Lion?

DJ-B wrote:

Shotty wrote:

I'd love this. If we did get him, he'd probably immediately be put in Durants past spot. He needs to prove he can cover well before being trusted at MLB.

Doesnt the SLB end up needeing to be able to cover the TE in any standard formation. Regardless. his Primary problem on field is his lack of coverage ability.. so the Only position hes functional at is MLB, and you dont move tulloch fromt he position hes always played and you just paid him million to come back and play to slide in a guy who couldnt cut it on the raiders int he same role. IF we brought him in it would be as Tullochs backup. This isnt Madden.

wjb21ndtown wrote:

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

I agree... We don't have a sound system, culture, leadership, etc. Those are things that a player needs when he's "turning his career around," which is why players don't come here and "get better."

It would be a mistake on McClain's part to come to Detroit.

If he wants to play on a one year deal he should go to a team like Baltimore. Somewhere he's going to have a defined role.

100% agreed. If we could get him dirt cheap as a Backup, id say why not. That said, we are the wrong team for him, without a real opening where his talent could shine even if he could get it together, and we have problems properly disciplining and managing potheads, let alone violent criminals. Bad idea all around.

I get what you are saying, but at what point do we have to take a chance on players with potential and trust our administration. Because we as a team won't get better leaving players out there with upside basing it off past mistakes. This team will continue to stay stagnate with everyone passing on potential and letting him go to the Ravens, Pats, etc and letting them shine. Because the draft can't fix everything, gambling has to play a part with some FA players and hope we hit jackpot.

_________________The REAL "Lion King" and father to Simba

April 8th, 2013, 1:46 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: McClain a Lion?

Mufasa wrote:

DJ-B wrote:

Shotty wrote:

I'd love this. If we did get him, he'd probably immediately be put in Durants past spot. He needs to prove he can cover well before being trusted at MLB.

Doesnt the SLB end up needeing to be able to cover the TE in any standard formation. Regardless. his Primary problem on field is his lack of coverage ability.. so the Only position hes functional at is MLB, and you dont move tulloch fromt he position hes always played and you just paid him million to come back and play to slide in a guy who couldnt cut it on the raiders int he same role. IF we brought him in it would be as Tullochs backup. This isnt Madden.

wjb21ndtown wrote:

The Legend wrote:

I dunno that it matters, this team has no clue how to evaluate its linebackers. Levy gets 3 yrs at over $3mill/season while the superior player Durant gets a total of 2yrs/$2.4 million. Levy costs more per season than Durant's entire contract, and we re supposed to feel confident about how this team is handling a tight cap situation.

as for mcclain i think he has talent but if he cant make it in a dysfunctional oakland system why should he make it in a dysfunctional detroit system?

I agree... We don't have a sound system, culture, leadership, etc. Those are things that a player needs when he's "turning his career around," which is why players don't come here and "get better."

It would be a mistake on McClain's part to come to Detroit.

If he wants to play on a one year deal he should go to a team like Baltimore. Somewhere he's going to have a defined role.

100% agreed. If we could get him dirt cheap as a Backup, id say why not. That said, we are the wrong team for him, without a real opening where his talent could shine even if he could get it together, and we have problems properly disciplining and managing potheads, let alone violent criminals. Bad idea all around.

I get what you are saying, but at what point do we have to take a chance on players with potential and trust our administration. Because we as a team won't get better leaving players out there with upside basing it off past mistakes. This team will continue to stay stagnate with everyone passing on potential and letting him go to the Ravens, Pats, etc and letting them shine. Because the draft can't fix everything, gambling has to play a part with some FA players and hope we hit jackpot.

Taking on chance on filling a hole is one thing, taking a chance on a player that already plays a position that we have filled is another. It's not like McClain is this potentially great SLB, and we should "give him a chance." He's a potentially better MLB than Tulloch, but we have a MLB.